Shocked and awed

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Cert 12A Running time 149 minutes The humour’s purpose is to distract us from where the story is heading, as the beginning establishes not all will survive

Earth’s mightiest superheroes return in the most thrilling, destructive and daring adventure of the Marvel franchise. It’s a full-throttle galaxy-shattering epic which is guaranteed to leave fans slack-jawed by the time the lights come up.

It’s the 19th adventure in the series and Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain America are joined by Thor, Spider-man, Black Panther, the Guardians of the Galaxy and more, in a desperate bid to save the universe.

Josh Brolin brings a sense of honour and purpose to his gravel-voiced menace in the role of Thanos, the giant alien villain who believes he is the good guy. Thanos is determined to save the universe from over-population by culling exactly one half of its inhabitants. And if he obtains all six Infinity stones, he will have the power to do so at the snap of his fingers.

One of the stones is attached to the forehead of Paul Bettany’s hero, Vision, making this a very personal fight for the Avengers, especially for his love interest, Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch.

As we blast across the universe in a series of dazzlingly executed fights, humour is key to making us care what happens.

From Spider-man’s wisecracking to the verbal spats between Ironman and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr Strange, the script is stuffed with smart visual gags and self-aware references.

Its purpose is to distract us from where the story is heading, especially as the eye-opening beginning establishes not everybody is going to survive.

I didn’t imagine it would be possible to shock us to this degree, or that Marvel was capable of topping their barnstorming Avenger’s Assemble in 2012.

But this is Marvel’s biggest, boldest and most breathtaking film to date.

The repercussions to the Marvel Connected Universe will be felt long after the sequel lands next year. I cannot wait.